MP4 File Recovery: How to Recover Deleted MP4 Video Files

Common Causes of MP4 File Damage and Data Loss

There are quite a few reasons that could lead to the damage or loss of your MP4 files, and the recovery of those files depends on the underlying data loss scenario. Below is a list of some of the more common causes of corruption or data loss in MP4 files and the best way to recover them.

How to Recover Deleted MP4 Files on Windows PC & Mac

There are two most likely scenarios for accidentally deleted MP4 files. Either they’ve been erased from a storage device that can be connected to a computer, or they were deleted directly from a smartphone’s internal memory. With that, we’ll walk you through the best ways to recover deleted MP4 files on Android or PC.

Option A: On Mac & Windows PC

The most effective method for retrieving deleted MP4 files from a Windows or Mac computer is to utilize an established data recovery program. We’ve done in-depth reviews of the best data retrieval software on Windows and Mac and found Disk Drill to be a particularly effective MP4 file recovery software, given its superior recovery rates, impressive scanning speeds, and polished user interface.

On top of that, it has its fair share of nifty features. For one thing, it’s compatible with a wide range of storage devices, including memory cards, hard drives, and SSDs. It also has a cross-platform scanning feature that lets you start and resume scans on different operating systems. You can try out all of Disk Drill’s features through its trial version, which lets you recover MP4 for free with a 500MB data cap (on Windows). 

If you’re wondering how well Disk Drill fares against the competition, you can check out the comparisons with other Windows data recovery apps. You can also look into the Mac comparisons as well, in case you’re an Apple user. Want to find the recovery program that best fits your individual needs? Make sure to try out our software picker, which uses a guided survey to find a solution that checks all your boxes.

Here’s how you can use Disk Drill to recover deleted MP4 files:

1. First, download the latest version of Disk Drill from the Cleverfiles website and install it on your computer.
2. Make sure the storage device you want to recover MP4 files from is properly connected to your PC. From there, launch Disk Drill, then select the storage medium from the list of available devices and click the “Search for lost data” button.
3. Disk Drill will start scanning the device for any files that can be retrieved. You can click the “Review found files” button on the upper right to jump to the results section as the scan progresses. Alternatively, you can wait for the scan to finish first before clicking the same button to continue to the next step.
4. Once you’re on the results screen, you can narrow down your search using the “Video” option on the left-side panel. This will group your videos by format for easier selection.You can also type “.mp4” into the search bar in the top-right for Disk Drill to only show files with that file format. Then, when you locate the MP4 files you want to rescue, highlight them by ticking the checkbox beside their file names and hit the “Recover” button at the bottom right.
5. You’ll receive a pop-up asking you to specify a location where your recovered MP4 files should be saved. Note that this has to be on a different storage device than the one you’re currently scanning. Click “Next” to proceed.
6. After the completion of the retrieval process, you’ll be greeted with a message and a button labeled “Show recovered data in Explorer” that you can click to open the folder containing your retrieved files.

Option B: On Android

Similar to Disk Drill, Android devices have their own MP4 video recovery tools that are capable of rescuing lost files. The DiskDigger app from Google Play is one of the best Android apps to recover data from an SD card without having to shell out cash. It can run rudimentary scans on the internal memory of unrooted devices and possibly retrieve missing files. But for more in-depth scans, you’ll need to root your Android gizmo.

Follow the instructions below to recover deleted MP4 files using DiskDigger:

1. Open Google Play on your Android device and download the DiskDigger app.
2. Launch DiskDigger and tap the “SEARCH FOR LOST PHOTOS” button.
3. The app will begin scanning your Android device for retrievable files. Basic scans will probably finish in less than a minute. However, you can expect full scans to take much longer. After the scan is complete, a pop-up message will appear showing how many recoverable files were uncovered.
4. Mark the files you want to rescue by tapping them, then hit “Recover” near the bottom of the screen.
5. You can choose from three recovery location options. The MP4 files can be saved to a specific app, a specified location on your Android device, or uploaded to an FTP/SFTP server. Select the option that works for you.
6. Next, you have to select a folder where the recovered files will be saved. Highlight a folder and tap “USE THIS FOLDER” towards the bottom of the screen. Finally, tap “ALLOW” in the permissions pop-up that appears.
7. Your MP4 files should be saved in the folder you selected, and you should be able to access them through the video player app, gallery, or file manager of your Android device.

How to Recover Corrupted MP4 Files

Having an MP4 video suddenly stop playing due to being corrupted or broken can be an alarming situation. Luckily, there are a few methods you try that could get your video back in working order.

Method 1: Using VLC Media Player

VLC is an extremely popular free media player app that’s known for its robust set of codecs that allow it to play an impressive range of audio and video file formats. It also has a built-in feature that can potentially repair corrupted and broken AVI files, though it’s not a permanent fix and only pertains to that particular playback instance.

Since we’re talking about corrupted MP4 files in this guide, you’ll need to start by changing the file extension of your MP4 file to .avi”. From there, follow the steps below to recover corrupted MP4 files using VLC:

1. Download VLC from the official website, then launch the program and head to “Tools” > “Preferences.”
2. Navigate to the “Input/Codecs” section.
3. Click the dropdown labeled “Damaged or Incomplete AVI file” and select the “Always fix” option.
4. Hit the “Save” button. Now, when you try to play the corrupted video with VLC, it’ll automatically repair it before playback commences.

Method 2: Using Untrunc

Untrunc is a free open-source corrupted video file repair tool that you can use to potentially repair your corrupted MP4 files. It gets its name from truncated videos, which are clips that don’t play properly for a variety of reasons. One major caveat for this method is the fact that it requires a similar working video as a reference in order to do its job. Here’s how to use Untrunc to restore corrupted MP4 videos:

1. Download the latest version of Untrunct from GitHub, then extract and launch “untrunc-gui.exe.”
2. Click the “truncated file” button and select your corrupted MP4 file in the pop-up that appears.
3. Click the “reference file” button and select the working MP4 file to be used as a reference in the pop-up that appears.
4. Hit the “Repair” button in the bottom right, and the tool will attempt to fix the video to working order.

Method 3: Using Free Online Video File Repair

There’s no shortage of free video file repair websites available online, but finding a capable one can be pretty tough. Some claim to be free but only work on unreasonably small videos, while others don’t function at all. Here are a few free online video repair websites worth checking out:

• Fix.Video
• Repair MP4
• iSkysoft Online Video Repair